Primary Navigation

Gin Of The Month: Roku

A Japanese Slice of Summer

It’s June and summer is finally here, bringing us all some much needed blue skies and sunshine, which means it’s time to discuss our new Gin-of-the-Month to keep you going through those long hard weeks at work. For this month we’ve decided to take a trip to the other side of the world and explore a completely different culture to our own.

Throughout June, we will be cerebrating the Japanese gin ‘Roku’. A perfect blend of Japaneseinfusions and traditional style botanicals. Roku is based off 100 years of experience in handcrafted gin, originating from a dream to create ‘Japanese spirits that the whole world could enjoy’ – held by Shinjiro Torii, a predecessor of Suntory, at just 20 years old.

FLAVOUR:

Roku gin holds a total of fourteen botanicals – 6 Japanese exclusive ingredients and 8 traditional. Each botanical is harvested in the peak of it’s season to bring you the best possible flavour from each ingredient. These botanicals include Sencha and Gyokuru tea, Yazu peel and Sansho pepper, bringing a slightly spicy yet sweet taste to the gin.

Traditional botanicals are then added such as juniper (of course), as well as Angelica root, allowing it’s strong scent to linger on the foretaste. Orange and lemon peel are added, allowing a slightly zesty twist to the aftertaste, and cinnamon brings it it’s everlasting sweetness to compliment the spice brought by the Japanese botanicals.

THE BOTTLE

The term ‘Roku’ in Japanese translates to the number ‘six’, which is what gives the bottle it’sunorthodox hexagonal shape. Each Japanese botanical is embossed on one side of the bottle, adding to it’s unique craftsmanship. This is all done in order to display ‘Japanese aesthetic beauty’ through their gin and it’s design, and the bold calligraphy across the front of the bottle adds to this effect

OVERALL CONCLUSION

While many people prefer to stick to their well known or local brands of gin, or in other words ‘play it safe’, those willing to try something new will be in for a delightful treat. This gin is the perfect blend of something new, different with traditional flavourings that have made gin as popular as they are today.

RIDDLES RECOMMENDS – Serve over ice with a regular or herbal tonic, garnished with acinnamon stick or basil